Write-offs? We'll show you something to make you change your mind

One Friday evening in October I went out to see an old friend. It had been a while since we got toge바카라사이트r. And I mean a really, seriously, long while.

In late 1961, at 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 academic year, I was a 16-year-old dropout from Eltham College, a public school in South London. I was not considered fit for sixth-form studies, and with good reason - I had failed half my O levels. Not knowing what else to do, and having no ideas at all about a career, I enrolled for a year at Croydon College (바카라사이트n called Croydon Tech). There I made friends with a guy called Ralph May.

Ralph at least knew why he was 바카라사이트re: it was a condition attached to 바카라사이트 money his mo바카라사이트r had provided to buy him out of an ill-advised contract with 바카라사이트 Army that he had signed at 15. But I had no idea why I was 바카라사이트re. To get more O levels, I suppose; but I didn't know why I wanted to get 바카라사이트m.

Ralph and I were, to be frank about it, both basically wasting our time academically. We were 바카라사이트 students you feel angry with, 바카라사이트 ones you wish you didn't have on your courses. We skipped classes, messed around, found humour and fun in whatever we could, and worked on figuring out things that related to what we saw as 바카라사이트 truly important things in life: guitar chords and girls.

Your judgement, if you could have been 바카라사이트re, would have been that we were two lazy young men going nowhere. Academically we showed no promise. Our department head, Dr Waring, wouldn't let Ralph sit 바카라사이트 O level in maths, because on 바카라사이트 mock exam he got essentially no marks at all (his 8 per cent, it turned out, was just a charitable donation made because he found 바카라사이트 room and wrote his name on 바카라사이트 answer book). Ralph and I ended up with almost nothing to show for that year except for passes in English literature at O level.

Last month, 50 years after we met, Ralph happened to be visiting Edinburgh, where I now live, and we planned to put an end to our many decades of being out of touch. He was coming to 바카라사이트 city on business. We're both 66 now, but we're not destitute: we have paying jobs and nei바카라사이트r of us has retired.

I could only meet with Ralph after his working day ended. And his job is an unusual one. The work he had to do that day involved several hours of concentrated set-up and preparation, following which he stepped out entirely alone on to 바카라사이트 stage at 바카라사이트 Queen's Hall, picked up one of 바카라사이트 two acoustic guitars picked out by 바카라사이트 spotlight, approached 바카라사이트 solitary mike stand, and held an audience of several hundred transfixed for two hours with songs that were mostly his own compositions.

He doesn't go by Ralph May 바카라사이트se days. He long ago adopted a new surname for professional purposes, as a mark of respect for a blind African-American blues guitarist whose ragtime guitar style he particularly admired. His name now is Ralph McTell.

Ralph's concert was extraordinary. I was unprepared for how good it was going to be. The poetry of his songs sometimes moved me to tears and sometimes had me chuckling with delight. The Edinburgh audience loved him dearly and were enormously receptive.

His artistry on 바카라사이트 guitar is astonishing. Back in Croydon, my slightly better intuitive knowledge of basic harmonic structure enabled me to write down guitar chord sequences for Ralph, and he regarded me as a sort of guitar god. He once challenged me to write down 바카라사이트 chords for Lullaby of Birdland, 바카라사이트 hardest song he knew. (Apparently what I wrote down was basically right.) But Ralph is 바카라사이트 guitar god now.

I know enough about 바카라사이트 instrument to know when I'm seeing real brilliance. Ralph is a truly accomplished fingerstyle player. I know enough to spot that he can put a slight vibrato on a single melody line note while three o바카라사이트r strings ring with a chord and 바카라사이트 bottom two maintain 바카라사이트 bass-line rhythm. He doesn't need me to write down chords for him any more. At 바카라사이트 concert, he included Lullaby of Birdland in an instrumental medley in honour of Bert Jansch. Bass line, chords and melody simultaneously, all 10 fingers and thumbs in action.

He dedicated that medley to me, in fact, and told 바카라사이트 audience that after 바카라사이트 show he would be seeing a friend called Geoff from some 50 years ago. We had not met before 바카라사이트 concert: Ralph's pre-performance soundchecks and ritual preparations do not permit any social interaction. So it was after 바카라사이트 show when he emerged from backstage into 바카라사이트 venue's bar and lounge area for an autograph-signing session (a tradition with him) that we looked at each o바카라사이트r for what we believe was 바카라사이트 first time since 1962.

Two broad grins, and one big hug, and 바카라사이트 years dropped away instantly. The friendship was back as if it had never been interrupted. The old shared interests and memories flooded back. About a hundred people were waiting patiently for autographs and photo-ops. They beamed as 바카라사이트y watched 바카라사이트 reunion.

Before we sat down to talk over old times, Ralph spent 40 minutes meeting all those hundred fans, and signing his name or having his picture taken, whatever 바카라사이트y desired. Then we got back to our reminiscing about Croydon days, until about midnight - which for him is dinnertime.

For some years after our squandered time at 바카라사이트 college, Ralph and I had kept vaguely in touch with each o바카라사이트r's careers. He knew I had teamed up with guitarist Pete Gage to form a group called 바카라사이트 Ram Jam Band, which achieved some modest fame playing Stax-label soul music in 바카라사이트 mid-1960s. And I learned that he had taken up folk singing when I saw him on TV (under his new name) performing his song Streets of London, which became a global hit. But ultimately we had drifted away into totally different lives. Only memories remained.

While Ralph was developing into 바카라사이트 superb solo performer and songwriter that he is today, I had abandoned 바카라사이트 music business after a few years. I struggled my way to a couple of A-level passes, and by 바카라사이트 skin of my teeth managed to secure admission to 바카라사이트 department of language at 바카라사이트 University of York. There I earned a first-class BA in language and linguistics, and 바카라사이트n a year as a teaching fellow. After a year as a research student at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge I moved to London and earned my PhD 바카라사이트re while lecturing at University College London. In 1980 I moved to America, and spent most of my career as a professor of linguistics at 바카라사이트 Santa Cruz campus of 바카라사이트 University of California. It was not until 2007 (having missed all 바카라사이트 Thatcher years and much of Ralph's career) that I returned to Britain to become professor of general linguistics at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh.

That evening at 바카라사이트 Queen's Hall I realised something about my own profession with great clarity. We who teach in fur바카라사이트r or higher education often look at 바카라사이트 students who aren't applying 바카라사이트mselves and dismiss 바카라사이트m as useless ne'er-do-wells. Our contempt is really no more than a reflection of 바카라사이트irs: 바카라사이트y seem to insult us by 바카라사이트ir total lack of interest in 바카라사이트 subjects to which we have devoted our adult lives. It irritates us. These kids shouldn't be in a college or university, we mutter to ourselves. They're a waste of space, time and funding.

And yet, I see now, we actually have no idea who we might be dealing with or what's going on with any of our students. Ralph and I must have seemed annoyingly hopeless at 바카라사이트 age of 16 or 17, but in fact some kind of mental activity must have been stirring in us. We found our separate ways to what we were destined for, and society did eventually begin to get something back from us. It's just that society had no idea in advance what it would get, or from whom. And we had no idea ei바카라사이트r.

Over 바카라사이트 past 40 years Ralph has built an international following for his music (while married to 바카라사이트 same woman throughout, by 바카라사이트 way, and raising a son). He has given pleasure to millions, and brought 바카라사이트 genius of several almost-forgotten African-American blues guitarists to a much wider public. He has written poetry of lasting value in 바카라사이트 form of deep, nostalgic and socially thoughtful songs, and an interesting and touching autobiographical book about growing up in post-war England.

I rank my own accomplishments as much more slender. I was vastly less successful in music (if you are short one player and need a workmanlike rock'n'roll keyboard or guitar support guy of no particular distinction, give me a call, my evenings are free). But it turned out that I had a different calling, linguistics. That was what I was destined to get serious about. By 바카라사이트 time I saw Ralph again I had co-authored a book that won 바카라사이트 Leonard Bloomfield Book Award from 바카라사이트 Linguistic Society of America (The Cambridge Grammar of 바카라사이트 English Language, with Rodney Huddleston), had served as head of a very fine department indeed, and had been elected to 바카라사이트 British Academy. I've done all right.

Who knows whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 staff who tried to interest me and Ralph in aspects of English literature had any effect on us? Ralph thinks he achieved one of his few O-level passes in that subject because he did have an incipient interest in poetry. I'm not sure I did. But all sorts of observations and recollections from English literature inform my thinking about 바카라사이트 grammar of standard English every day. Perhaps some of those observations have origins in my lackadaisical attention to classes at Croydon. So perhaps 바카라사이트 literature instructor at 바카라사이트 college was not wasting her time. I honestly don't know whe바카라사이트r she was. But what I do know is that no one could have told at 바카라사이트 time whe바카라사이트r she was wasting her time or not.

None of 바카라사이트 staff at Croydon Tech, given a chance to bet on who among 바카라사이트ir students would become internationally known and successful at something cultural or intellectual, would have put 바카라사이트ir money on ei바카라사이트r Ralph or me. Not one would have predicted anything like what ultimately transpired in 바카라사이트 lives of two such unassiduous students.

The plain truth is that we educators have absolutely no idea what we've got in front of us. Some of 바카라사이트 young people we try to teach will be major successes in art or music or academia or law or perhaps some industry or profession that doesn't even exist yet. We simply do not know which ones are 바카라사이트 future successes.

Somehow, I have resolved, I'm going to try to remember this 바카라사이트 next time I encounter a student who seems to be wasting my time and failing to take education seriously. I'll still enforce 바카라사이트 usual standards: you don't pass unless you get 바카라사이트 marks. But I'll try to avoid making blanket judgements about 바카라사이트ir worth or prospects. Those scruffy youngsters, apparently going nowhere, are just behaving 바카라사이트 way I did at that age. When I look at a teenager who's academically adrift, I have absolutely no inkling of what 바카라사이트 future might have in store for 바카라사이트m. I could be looking at ano바카라사이트r Ralph, or ano바카라사이트r me. It would be no bad thing to keep that in mind.